The Pequea Valley boys' soccer team posted its second straight victory, topping Trinity 3-1 in a non-league Saturday afternoon match on September 17.

The Braves (2-4-0) rode the scoring spree of junior Jackson Neff, who recorded a hat trick.

Neff scored four minutes into the second half on an assist from Tony Martinez-Ortiz. He made it 2-0 only four minutes later as Ethan Gerber was credited with the assist.

He completed the hat trick on a Keran Finegan assist in the 51st minute.

"He had a hat trick within seven minutes," said head coach Peter Bennett. "I was pleased that even as we got to three goals, our boys were hungry for more and continued working to create scoring opportunities while also controlling the game."

Despite the scoreless game at halftime, Bennett felt the team was playing well for the first 40 minutes.

"We started well," he said. "We found ourselves getting into good spaces and creating scoring opportunities - especially with our crossing."

The Braves were coming off a shutout win against Annville-Cleona three days earlier. That 2-0 triumph was the team's first Lancaster-Lebanon League win of the year.

"I was pleased how we dug in and came out strong to win against AC after playing a rescheduled night game at Lancaster Mennonite the day before," Bennett said. "Anytime you play that close together, there is the worry about a slow start.

"But we came out focused and attacked," continued the coach. "Ethan Gerber scored 45 seconds into the match off a pass from fellow senior Ian Waldron. We got a good cross from Nick Ammon into the box and our guys were aggressive to put away our early chance."

Gerber scored the Braves' second goal off an assist by Reece Stoltzfus.

"Freshman goalie Bryce Goodroad made a couple timely saves to keep the shutout," Bennett said. "We did well in managing the game and getting the win on some tired legs.

"We wanted to perform well against Trinity," Bennett added. "Having had some rest, we wanted to put together a more complete match and show what we're capable of doing."

Goodroad went on to record three saves in the Trinity game.

"I thought our defense did well to limit their chances," added Bennett.

FOOTBALL

The Braves faced Northern Lebanon on the road Friday night, September 16. It was the first L-L League game for both teams' 2022 campaign.

The Vikings narrowly escaped with a 22-8 victory thanks to two big touchdown passes by Grady Stichler. He completed nine passes for 202 yards, connecting with senior Moises Gonzalez on a 75-yard scoring play in the second quarter and on a 29-yarder in the third, giving the Vikings a 15-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

"We had made our adjustment at the half," PV head coach Mike Choi explained. "They had a couple of big plays, and they were on broken assignments."

The Braves fell to 0-4 on the year (0-1 league) while the Vikings improved to 2-2 (1-0 league).

For the Braves, it was yet another close game, showing the growth of the squad.

"In our four losses, three of them were one-score games in the fourth quarter," Choi pointed out. The season opener was scoreless heading into the fourth, ending in a 14-0 loss to Biglerville. On September 9, it was Hanover over Pequea Valley 13-6 in a non-league game that was 7-6 Hanover heading into the final period.

The Braves battled back on Friday night, cutting the deficit to 15-8 in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Peyton Temple capped the scoring drive with a one-yard sneak across the goal line. The two-point conversion was a pass from Temple to fullback Dontae Petersheim, making it a seven-point game.

"Dontae Petersheim stepped in for Orlando Stoltzfus at fullback," Choi said. "He did a good job and ran the ball hard.

"We ran some traps, and our offensive line did a great job blocking," continued the coach. "We were able to sustain a drive. On the two-point conversion, their rushers were coming in. Peyton kept his poise and Dante made a nice catch for the two points."

Petersheim paced Pequea with 84 rushing yards. Cameron Bergman gained 35 yards on three carries.

Temple finished with 53 passing yards, including 26 yards on two completions to Darrell Beiler.

"I'm proud of the kids for the effort they put in," Choi said. "The kids are getting used to playing in bigger moments and we're building pride, gaining respectability around the league."

GOLF

The golfers came out on top in a six-team competition at Honey Brook Golf Club on Wednesday, September 21. With their team score of 333, the Braves finished six points ahead of Lancaster Country Day. The Cougars themselves finished six points ahead of Annville-Cleona (345) while Northern Lebanon (382) finished fourth by a slim margin (385) over Lancaster Mennonite. Lebanon took sixth.

Winston Thai (72) was the leader on the day, representing Lancaster Country Day. Pequea's Cole Stoltzfus and Matt Lapp carded 77s. Dylan Stoltzfus recorded an 88 and Bo Smucker finished at 91.

The Braves improved to 17-3 and sit atop the standings in Section Three.

GIRLS' SOCCER

The 3-0 shutout of Annville-Cleona back on September 14 was the first of three consecutive shutouts by the Pequea girls' soccer team. With a 1-0 victory at home over Tulpehocken on Friday and a 3-0 defeat of Lancaster Catholic in an L-L League contest on Tuesday, the Braves improved to 5-3-1 (2-1-1 league).

On Friday, an early goal by Trinity Rosa held up for a defeat of the Trojans. Rosa scored three minutes into the non-league match off a Morgan Graham assist.

Sophomore Carissa Mulder notched a shutout in that game as well as recording four saves against Catholic Tuesday afternoon on the road.

Rosa and Graham scored the Braves' first two goals while Breanne Biler put the finishing touch on the offense with a goal in the 67th minute.

CROSS COUNTRY

The Pequea harriers competed in the Ben Blosser Bulldog Invitational at Big Spring on September 17.

"Aubrey Ressler and Caleigh Vincent were both award winners, finishing in the top 30 in the Girls' AA race," head coach Keith Andrew noted.

Ressler took seventh with a time of 20:23 while Vincent (21:10) finished 17th. Abby Beiler (47th, 23:21) and Izzy Hershey (94th, 25:52) rounded out the girls.

"All four girls were within seconds of running their fastest times for the year on the most challenging course to date," Andrew added.

"Vincent improved on last years' time by 2:15 and Beiler by 4:17.

Cam Beiler led the boys with his time of 19:07, which was good for 40th, while Hugh Johnson (19:56) took 60th place.

Not far behind was Ryan Flaim (20:44) in 86th place followed by Ryan Sensenig (89th, 20:52)

Flaim improved on last years' time by 3:33 and Beiler by 2:05.